FNL Preview: Brookfield Bulldogs @ South Shelby Cardinals

This week, the 5-1 Brookfield Bulldogs are headed on the road for a Clarence Cannon Conference showdown with the South Shelby Cardinals. The Cardinals are 2-3 on the season, having lost to Macon, Palmyra and Centralia.

This week, the 5-1 Brookfield Bulldogs are headed on the road for a Clarence Cannon Conference showdown with the South Shelby Cardinals. The Cardinals are 2-3 on the season, having lost to Macon, Palmyra and Centralia.

“Kids are resilient,” said Head Coach Nile Thudium about his locker room after their first loss. “They are ready for the next challenge. There were some positives to take from our loss. I thought our players gave outstanding effort all night long.”

From the LCL's pre-season preview:

The South Shelby Cardinals are in their sixth season under Head Coach Rob Wilt, who has been with the program for 14 years. Last season, the Cardinals were 8-5 overall, 5-4 in the CCC, and 3-1 in the playoffs.

The Cardinals were State Semifinalists in 2011, and State Quarterfinalists in 2010 and 2012. They have nine Conference Championships under their belts as well.

South Shelby will run out of a Two-Back Power set. Last season, the Cardinals averages 29.8 points per game, 273.5 rushing yards, and 80 yards passing.

“They prefer to line up in a standard Pro Set and run the ball right at you,” said Coach Thudium. “They have an outstanding tailback who runs the ball extremely hard. We must be very physical up front and our linebackers will need to be extremely aggressive.”

Defensively, South Shelby will run multiple fronts, and allowed 17.7 points per game last season. “We are expecting to see a 6-2,” said Coach Thudium. “They will load the box and dare us to throw the football just as every team has the whole season. Obviously our offense is struggling to score touchdowns. We just have to continue to improve our execution, and we must be able to throw the ball down field to back some of their defenders off the line of scrimmage.”